The Red Sox led the major leagues in runs during the regular season, and they lead again during the postseason. They have power and speed, although the latter might be negated by baseball's best catcher, the Cardinals' Yadier Molina. The Cards led the NL in runs during the regular season, but they're batting .210 in the playoffs. St. Louis cleanup batter Allen Craig, out since Sept. 4 because of a foot injury, returns as the designated hitter. Advantage: Red Sox.

STARTING PITCHING

The Cardinals start with Adam Wainwright and rookie Michael Wacha, the two best starters on any team this October. Wacha, who was in college last year, has 22 strikeouts and four walks in 21 innings. The Red Sox can compete with Jon Lester and John Lackey, but the series could turn on whether another starter can emerge from postseason mediocrity: Joe Kelly or Lance Lynn for St. Louis, Clay Buchholz or Jake Peavy for Boston. Advantage: Cardinals.

BULLPEN

The St. Louis bullpen is all about a parade of hard throwers — and young ones, with closer Trevor Rosenthal as one of five rookie relievers. David Ortiz has reached base four times in nine appearances against the Cardinals' left-handed specialist, Randy Choate. The Boston bullpen has four guys with an October earned-run average of 0.00 — Craig Breslow, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront and Brandon Workman — ahead of Junichi Tazawa and closer Koji Uehara, who has 13 strikeouts and no walks in nine innings. Advantage: Red Sox.

RESERVES

With Craig, the Cardinals will have a legitimate power threat off the bench when the series returns to St. Louis. The Red Sox are much deeper, with outfielder Daniel Nava, who hit 12 home runs on the bench along with third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who hit 17 but now plays behind dynamic rookie Xander Bogaerts. Advantage: Red Sox.